Every time we check our email inbox, we feel bad about the mountain of unread newsletters. We tell ourselves we'll read them later, but that never happens.
Such a situation makes us wonder: is it the beginning of the end for this communication tool?
In fact, this question hides a more interesting one: what's wrong with the current format that makes us stop reading them?
First, there are so many newsletters today—over 1.3 million on Substack alone Reletter. With 1 in 3 digital marketers sending emails weekly and 26% more than once a month Databox, just do the math, and you’ll see how it can quickly become too much.
Then, finding real value feels like looking for a needle in a haystack, as many are made in factory mode, mass-produced content created just to keep an email list engaged.
And if you’re receiving newsletters you never subscribed to, that’s normal! Substack (and many others) allows users to import a list of “assumed subscribers” and mass-email them with just the click of a button.
These days, newsletters are competing with TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram for our attention. While those platforms use smart algorithms and #foryou pages to show us the best content, newsletters still arrive in our inboxes in a basic recent-first order, mixed in with other emails.
However, the future looks bright! Buddy offers valuable content for french young adults, and Beehiiv is making great progress in improving the newsletter experience. Plus, X is a great place to discover and share great newsletters.
But there's still a lot of work to be done...